


The Best of the Vampires

by Canis_Major



Category: Dracula (TV 2020)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:07:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29069271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canis_Major/pseuds/Canis_Major
Summary: "Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared dream before."When Zoe Van Helsing drinks Dracula's blood, she has no idea of the journey she is about to take.
Relationships: Dracula/Agatha Van Helsing, Dracula/Zoe Van Helsing
Comments: 7
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Un beta'd as i am impatient! ;-) All mistakes and mine and mine alone!

“You’re not her, are you?”

The words, so softly spoken, had been like a lover’s caress over her skin. He had seemed almost sad about it, there had been a sense of disappointment. Like he would miss Agatha, it was almost like he was sad that she wasn’t her Great-great Aunt. His comment about really liking her on the beach had made her want to slap him or grab the gun from his hand and shoot him point blank. Instead, she had bitten her tongue and stared him in the eye as she accused him of murdering Agatha. Agatha had been competition for him, had challenged him. Had done all she could to kill him. And failed. And in turn, he had murdered her as petty revenge.

As Zoe changed for bed, knowing that Dracula was now free to do as he pleased, she could not help but feel the Harker Foundation had signed its own suicide note. But those words, had not stopped running through her head all day. Though it felt like a lot longer, this morning on the beach felt like a lifetime ago, but it had only been 14 hours. But those words, why had they affected her so much? They had obviously been just throw away words for him, but his apparent upset over the fact she wasn’t Agatha hadn’t changed anything, he’d still killed as fast as he could and now, Dracula was now loose on England, an unstoppable force that not even the immovable object of the Harker Foundation had been able to prevent. She knew that her cancer diagnosis left her with truly little time, and now she had nothing to focus her mind. The next few months were going to be the hardest, she HAD to find a way to kill Dracula before she died.

Drinking his blood had been a monumental mistake and would most likely come back and haunt her in some horrific way, but the brief glimpse of him feeding from Agatha had stirred something in her. He hadn’t fed like a starving man, he had been tender and careful, like he had actually cared for her. He’d held her like a lover would.

Sighing, she settled in bed and knew that even after a day as crazy as it had been, she wasn’t going to get a good night’s sleep, she was starting to feel the side effects of the cancer and although she could handle the sleeplessness, the hot flushes during the night were beginning to wear her down. She sighed and rolled onto her side, snuggling into the duvet, and closing her eyes, hoping for at least a few hours of good sleep.

_“Hello Zoe” Zoe jumped and spun, her dream changing from nothingness to being stood in a large room, but she wasn’t alone._

_“Count Dracula.” Stood beside a window looking out, the tall vampire was an imposing sight in a black suit and dark shirt. There was an iPod playing quietly in the background and Zoe found herself looking around the room. It was simple yet beautiful. The floor to ceiling windows were open and she could feel a hint of breeze through them_ _, it was enough to billow the curtains, but not enough to be cold._ _The wooden parquet flooring was polished to a high shine and as Zoe looked at herself, she realised that she was in a very elegant but modest ball gown, not something she would have chosen to wear herself, but she could see the elegance in the cut and had to admit that it suited her. “What is this?”_

_“You’re in my dreams.” He turned to her and smiled, holding out a hand. “Would you like to dance?”_

_“No. Why I am here? Is this even real?”_

_“You drank my blood, didn’t you? How did I taste Zoe? And why might it not be real?” Zoe didn’t answer, just remained standing, her arms crossed over her chest glaring at him. He smirked at her before flashing that true charming grin._

_“Yes Zoe, this is very real, however it is still a dream. You don’t like my dream?”_

_“No.”_

_“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared dream before.” He said quietly as he returned to looking out of the window. She couldn’t see what held his attention_ _, and she didn’t really want to draw his attention back to herself_ _, so she just stood in the doorway._

_“You’ve read Poe.”_

_“I’ve read a lot_ _of things in my time_ _Zoe. I invited him to my castle, but he declined my invitation. Probably a good thing in hindsight. Anyway, I thought that might resonate with you. Zoe, dreams are a beautiful thing, nothing can stop dreams.”_ _He replied softly, she could see a hint of a smile on his face as he turned to look at her again._

_“Only in our dreams are we free. The rest of the time we need wages.” She replied, glaring at him. “Dreams are all well and good, but dreams cannot pay bills Count Dracula. Now, why I am here?”_

_“You drank my blood. Part of me is in you.” He smiled at her, and Zoe was thrown by how handsome he looked. He looked relaxed, natural, and human, and not at all like the beast all of Agatha’s Journal’s had made him out to be._ _And she had to admit to herself that he had_ _been gentle during their encounter in his cage. The man stood before her, and he was definitely a man and not a beast, was undoing everything she thought she knew about him. Everything about Agatha’s Journal’s had described him as a beast who was uncontrollable, but here, stood before her, he was controlled, handsome, human, and beguiling. He held out a hand again and said_

 _“One dance Zoe.” He smiled down at her and Zoe felt her heart skip a beat. She_ _sighed as she_ _finally admitted to herself that he really was handsome and to some degree she was attracted to him, and the biggest issue was that he knew it. She sighed and nodded and placed her palm in his, allowing him to lead her around the dance floor._ _It surprised her slightly how warm his hand was, and just how hard and solid he felt as he moved her into position._ _The smile that he had bestowed her at her acceptance had made her heart skip another beat. What on earth was wrong with her?_

 _“Where are we?” She asked him, trying to keep some distance between them but failing, as he pulled her flush against him and started to move, she had no option but to follow his movements and she wasn’t surprised at how graceful he was. He would have been taught to dance a child. He managed to keep them moving smoothly, even though she stumbled a few times, dancing was not her forte. She looked around the room frowning as the scene slowly changed. He tightened his arms around her slightly as she moved to pull away, realising that he too had changed. Gone was the simple black suit, morphed into a full regal regalia, a dark jacket with tails over an ivory waistcoat and a pristine white shirt. He had an amulet with a wine_ _-_ _coloured necktie and a white bow tie at his throat and even a crown on his head. She was pretty sure that the buttons on the shirt and the waistcoat probably cost more than her house. Her dress had changed to a much formal ball gown, in blood red, complete with white gloves and she could feel a weight on her head, which she assumed to be a crown._

_“Where are we?”_

_“My father’s Castle.” He replied quickly glancing around_ _, he looked a tad confused though. “Some party or other._ _I’m not too sure to be honest_ _, the_ _parties melded into one. Do you like it?” Zoe looked around at the ridiculous amount of opulence and glared at the man leading her around the dance floor_

_“God were you ever not arrogant?”_

_“No Zoe, I was a prince” He smiled down at her and Zoe felt her heart skip a beat. She could understand how people felt pulled to him, his charm was magnetic._

_They danced for what felt like seconds to Zoe, but it must have been for quite some time. They had spun and swayed, and it had been perfect. She’d been able to forget that she was in the arms of a killer, been able to forget that she was dying. She felt loved and cherished in his arms, as he hadn’t taken his eyes off from her, smiling softly as he guided them around other couples on the dance floor._

_“Vlad, as beautiful as your bride is, you have other guests to attend to.” A tall gentleman who looked like Dracula tapped him in the shoulder._

_“Vlad? Bride” Zoe all but screeched, confused. His laughter rang out through the ballroom and people turned to look. It was mesmerising, was there anything about this man that didn’t simply draw you in. He was magnetic, charm and charisma personified._

_“You don’t think I was christened Dracula, do you? Ohhh Zoe.” He stopped dancing and led her off the ballroom floor._

_“Prince Vlad Tepes of Wallachia at your service.” He bowed over her hand before kissing the knuckles and said “Come, let’s go hide from my Father.” Zoe giggled as the was an enraged yell_ _of his name_ _came from the Ballroom as they ran through the corridors. He stopped and looked at her, cupping her face in one big strong hand, again making her heart stutter. He was so gentle, even as he backed her against a wall, he’d done it slowly enough that she had known what he was going to do. “In my time, I would have rushed to make you my wife. You fascinate me and challenge me and that would have made us a perfect match.” Zoe gaped at him_ _, pushing at his chest_ _and_ _glaring as she_ _said_

_“Ohh My God, arrogant much.” He laughed but carried on leading her through the castle to his rooms. As they burst through the doors, the scene changed again, and their clothes once again changed with the scene. This time they were back at the Convent. And they were spectators to his first bite on Agatha._

_“Zoe, please, don’t.” He breathed, trying to pull her away, but she wouldn’t budge. She watched in rapt horror as Agatha willingly let him bite her._

_“Come boy, suckle”_

_With a snarl he launched, biting down into her jugular, his arms around her like a lover’s caress as he fed from her. He’d been gentle, well as gentle as he could be with her._

_“Why? Why did you make her last?”_

_“Because she was wonderful, exquisite even.” He said, turning to look down at Zoe, rather than watch himself feed from Agatha. “Everything I liked about her; I see in you and more. What is it about Van Helsing women that I cannot resist? Zoe I am drawn to you. I want to get to know you.” He breathed, his face centimetres from hers. Zoe glared at him and pushed him away, the scene changing for a third time as his dream-self carried the now comatose nun from the room. They were back in the first room as Zoe pulled her hand from his and said_

_“You lost that chance Count Dracula, when you left the Harker Foundation.” She snapped at him._

_“You are disappointed in me, and again I find myself wanting to change that. Why Zoe, why do you do this to me?”_

_“Because Count Dracula,” a heavily accented Dutch voice said. They both spun to face a third person, Sister Agatha was stood in her habit, her hair down, blood still on her neck from his frenzied feeding on the Demeter, “everything about you has been our life’s work, and my biggest flaw was that I was fascinated by you, dare I say in love with the idea of you. And you drank my blood, and Zoe drank your blood. You took my fascination and it now runs through your veins. How does the New World feel Count?”_

Zoe jolted awake and shot to the nearest mirror. The bandage on her neck was still there, and the small tamper marks that she had made sure Samantha, the Foundation’s Nurse, had put in, hadn’t moved. She checked her watch and saw that it was still only just gone 1 in the morning. Dropping back into her pillows she debated fighting with herself to sleep, but in the end, the last few days taking their toll, she dropped back to sleep.

Several hundred miles south, Dracula shot out of his meditative state with a feral snarl. Grabbing the phone that he had stolen, and grateful for the fact it had no password, he scrolled through the contacts to find Zoe’s number. Pressing call before he even realised what he was doing, he waited with bated breath for Zoe to answer.

“Jack? What’s up?” Her voice was rough with sleep and he instantly felt guilty, not something he had felt in years.

“Zoe.” He breathed into the phone.

“Count Dracula. Why do you have Jack’s phone? What have you done to him?”

“Such concern for the mortal, does he mean something to you?”

“I’m his mentor Count, now, where is he?”

“Probably frantically searching for his telephone.”

“You stole it?”

“Yes. I will return it, on one condition.”

“What?”

“I want to see you.”

“Why?”

“Because I have come to realise that you intrigue me. And as you are poison to me, you are in no danger.”

“I am not Sister Agatha Count.”

“Ohh I know. You are more than her. Meet me, tomorrow Zoe.”

“Only if you promise to return to the Foundation.”

“Zoe,” he drawled “I’m not going to be your pet.”

“Those are my terms Count Dracula, take them or leave them.” He stared at the handset in astonishment as Zoe ended the call. He couldn’t be what she wanted him to be, it just wasn’t in his nature, he had always been top dog. Even as a Prince and a Warlord, no one had dared challenge him.

What was it about the Van Helsing’s that made his blood sing? He’d so nearly kissed Zoe, and the only other person he had wanted to do that to, had been Agatha, even though she had been desperate to kill him, and that idea hadn’t crossed his thoughts for hundreds of years prior to that. Those few seconds, after the first explosion, he’d wanted to kill her and kiss her at exactly the same time, but his self-preservation had won out and he’d fled.

He winced slightly in his seat, before realising, with a bit of shock, that he was hard as a rock and very much tenting his trousers. He hoped like hell Renfield didn’t turn to talk to him. This was a strange feeling, he hadn’t been hard in many years and although the desire to kiss Agatha and Zoe had washed over him, actually being hard for someone again was thrilling in a strange way. When he’d first turned, he’d fucked his way through hundreds of mortals, feeding from them as well, but as soon as the high he had got from feeding had started to surpass the high he had got from fucking, well there was a reason blood was an addiction. He sighed and rested his head against the headrest of the car. They were nearly in London now, the traffic on the way down from Whitby having been particularly bad especially for the time of night.

He smiled softly to himself but relaxed and closed his eyes, letting his thoughts wander to Agatha, Zoe, and what he hoped was a new beginning.


	2. Chapter 2

_“What the hell? ” Zoe snapped as the nothingness vanished and she was suddenly aware that she was dreaming. It was the clarity made it very clear that this was one of their shared dreams, although it had been over 6 weeks since their last one. She was surprised to be pulled back into a dream with him, she had assumed that the previous one had only been because she had drunk his blood that afternoon. This time however, she was in a hallway by herself, a set of double doors in front of her and the sound of an iPod playing a musical piece on the piano._

_Pushing the doors open she was surprised to see that it wasn’t an iPod playing music, but it was Dracula sat bent over a piano, his dark locks falling into his eyes. He was in dark trousers with a white shirt, which had the sleeves rolled up and Zoe was able to watch the muscles in his forearms as he played. She watched for a moment, his long, elegant fingers were built for the piano and the tune he was playing, was intricate and complex. She knew that she recognised it but couldn’t quite remember what it was called._

_“Oh my god, please tell me you haven’t eaten Ed Sheeran.”_

_Dracula laughed and stopped playing before turning to look at her, still chuckling, his eyes alight and once again looking totally human. In the weeks since she had seen him, he’d only got more handsome. He looked taller, stronger, and fitter, like living in the 21 st Century was doing him some good. _

_“Tempting but no, it was Lewis Capaldi.”_

_There was a cheeky grin on his face and a very naughty glint in his eye and Zoe knew that he was lying. She glared at him slightly before moving over to the piano, the room seemed familiar and it wasn’t until she got the grand piano_ _,_ _she_ _realised_ _what it was, he had recreated the piano scene from Pretty Woman._

_“Why I am here Dracula? And I do hope you don’t think I will recreate the scene with Vivian and Edward.”_

_He laughed again and held a hand out to her, before shuffling over on the bench so she could sit beside him. She swatted at his hand but dropped onto the bench seat beside him._

_“I missed you.” He muttered quietly, not looking at her as his fingers flew over the keys playing a very haunting but beautiful melody._

_“Dracula.” Zoe whispered, totally enchanted and also angry, why was she feeling so drawn to him? Was Agatha’s fascination with him still coursing through her veins? Or was this something else._

_“You asked me if I was ever not arrogant.” He sighed, stopping abruptly, and stood before untucking his shirt from his trousers and pulling it up. On his left-hand side, just above his hipbone was a scar. It hadn’t been mentioned in Agatha’s journals, and Zoe couldn’t help herself as she reached out and ran her fingers over it. He jumped when she touched it, but he didn’t pull away, if anything he moved that tiny bit closer, giving her permission. The scar must have been well over 6 inches long and she could feel that his ran from the front of his torso to the back. He shivered, before grabbing her hands in his and stopping her exploration. Zoe groaned slightly, his skin had been warm and inviting, and the lack of fat on him was intriguing._

_“I was always arrogant, my father had ruled Wallachia for years, and had done nothing but tell me how wonderful he was, and we were as a family. My brothers and I wanted for nothing_ _as children, somewhat different as adults but anyway_ _. I was the second son, Mircea was older, and Radu was younger.” He huffed slightly, before looking down at her and saying “You know who I am, who I was. As a human.”_

_Zoe nodded._

_“Yes, I had copies of Agatha’s Journals, they were sent to her family after you took her from the Convent. She believed that you were Vlad the Impaler. Plus, your father bellowing your name in anger in that last dream, kind of gave it away.” A wry smile graced his face and he nodded._

_“A Turk with a very bad disposition and an even worse aim.” He said running a hand over the scar on his hip. “He ran me through with his sword, and instead of just pulling it_ _straight_ _out, he_ _cleaved_ _my side in two. I know exactly what my intestines look like. So, I should have died. But didn’t.” Moving his clothes again, he showed her more scars and with them more stories. The pucker by his shoulder where a pikeman had stabbed him, the criss-cross of tiny lines over his back where he had been whipped when held hostage with his younger brother. Another pike scar on his right hip, where they had stabbed him. None of his scars were easily visible, but she knew that they had all been terrible wounds, was the scar reduction a part of his revivification as a Vampire, part of the desire to show no weakness. Finally, he unbuttoned his shirt totally and removed it before lifting his arm, where there was a small scar running between his ribs. Not that Zoe was too focused on that, there was a lot of warm skin on show and she found herself wanting to explore it, finding as many of his human scar’s as possible. She knew that there would be more that were hidden by his trousers, and she found herself wanting to undo the button and let his slacks drop, so see could hunt for more._

_“Here is where I was murdered. A rapier, shoved in my side, and into my heart. Zoe, you cannot survive what I did without arrogance. I was a Warlord, one of the best of my time. I ruled Wallachia, several times” another wry smile crossed his face “before I was murdered. People depended on me; I hate to break it to you, but I had to be arrogant. And after my death, well I was top of the food chain, and well, arrogance just breeds arrogance when it’s not controlled.” He smiled at her holding his shirt in his left hand as Zoe_ _reached out and_ _found herself tracing his scars._

_“I was, and always will be, a killer.” He whispered, cupping her face as she inspected the scar in his side, she poked the end of the scar, realising that it had only been stopped by his hipbone, it should have been a death blow. How on Earth had he survived? “I don’t know any other way. Kill or be killed.” He continued, finally dropping his shirt, and cupping her head in his hands. When she didn’t pull away, he dropped to his knees, making them mostly level, thanks to his height, and moving from holding her face to her hands, he bowed his head and Zoe found herself running her fingers through the onyx locks on his head as he rested his head on her knees. It was a terribly intimate moment for both, and neither of them wanted it to end._

_They sat like that silently, him lost in the memories of his mortal life, and Zoe enjoying the feeling of running her fingers through his hair. It was soft and silky in her fingers, he all but purred when she ran her nails over his scalp. He lifted his head, smiling at her as he did so, before slowly rising to his feet and pulling his shirt back on, leaving it unbuttoned. He spread his arms wide and said_

_“So, what do you think of your Prince?”_

_“You are not mine.”_

_“But I could be.” He whispered, stepping close and cupping her face again. “I could be.” He reiterated. “In fact, I want to be Zoe. I want to be someone who could be loved by you.” Zoe pulled away from him and took several steps backwards. He dropped his hands to his sides as she backed away and as the dream faded, she heard him say_

_“Help me Zoe, Show Me.”_

Zoe woke with a start and wrapped her arms around herself. It was cold in the hospice room and as always, she was alone. In the two weeks since their dream, he had blessedly left her alone, but she had found that she had missed him. There was something about his presence that soothed her and allowed her to forget her imminent demise. What was it about him that intrigued her so? She could so easily have said yes to being his. To feel what it was like to be in his arms for real. She huffed a small laugh to herself; he was a killer he couldn’t do tender. He was clever, managing to pray on her feelings and making her feel like she felt something for him. She groaned as the phone rang and she rolled over to see who it was. She sighed when she saw Kate’s name pop up. She wasn’t really in the mood to talk to her, but she sighed and answered.

“Hi Kate.” She knew she must have sounded awful as Kate didn’t answer straight away.

“Did I wake you?”

“No.” She replied, taking a deep breath. “Anything?”

“Zoe, you’re dying. You need to stop worrying about Dracula.”

“Kate.”

“No, Zoe. Enough. Focus on yourself for once. Please.”

“I don’t know how to do that Kate.” She sighed as she shifted slightly, pushing herself up.

“Are you doing ok?”

“I’m dying Kate, remember, I’m doing about as well as possible.” Zoe snapped, and then felt awful at her reaction. “I’m sorry.” She said quietly,

“Me too.” Kate said just as quietly. “I’m going to send Jack with some papers for you. Give them a read if you fancy and let me know your thoughts. There is no rush.”

“Thanks Kate.”

“Get some rest.”

“Ergh, that’s all I’m doing. I barely leave my bed.” Zoe said, there was a hint of humour to her tone.

“So you’re not doing your daily step count then?” Zoe giggled and said

“I’m lucky if I hit 100 steps, let alone 10,000.”

“Get some rest Zoe, I’ll call you next week.”

“Thanks Kate.”

“No worries, and if he pops up, I promise I’ll tell you.”

“Thanks Kate.”

She popped her phone on silent and shut it in her drawer before she fell to the temptation of calling Jack’s old phone, just in case he answered. She knew she was kidding herself; it wasn’t him playing with her feelings. Everything she felt was all her. She loved him. She sighed before relaxing back onto her pillows, she started to sob lightly and hoped, for not the first time, that when she fell asleep, she wouldn’t wake.

_“Ohh Zoe.” He breathed into her ear, pulling her from_ _the_ _bed, still sobbing, into his arms. He kissed her temple and rocked her like he would a sobbing child. The scene around them changed from the hospice room but Zoe didn’t notice, she was unaware that she was the one who had changed the scene._

_“Shush Zoe, I’m here. Though where the hell I am is unknown.” He mumbled, she felt him tuck her head under his chin and wrap her as tightly in his arms as possible. He held her tight as she sobbed and continued to stroke her hair and whisper into her ear._

_“I’ve got you. You’re safe.” He said nothing else, just kissed her as she continued to sob in his arms._

_This was what she had refused to allow herself for most of her adult life, companionship, and someone to care for her when the shit hit the fan. Someone to love her would have been nice, but no man could hold a candle to the image of the perfect man in her head. The fact that the image in her head had rapidly transformed from a faceless man, to the man in whose arms she was currently sat. The man, who made her feel alive, the man who, for all his faults, she had fallen head over heels in love with. And if she really admitted it to herself, she’d been in love with him since the start. She’d never believed in love at first sight but as she had watched him watching her on the beach, she’d fallen totally in love with him. He’d walked from the water, so sure that he had won, and that ridiculous attitude he’d had, had blown her away._

_No matter what she tried she couldn’t stop the tears from falling, and she knew that she was ruining his shirt with her tears, but she couldn’t bring herself to pull away. He was surprisingly warm Zoe found that she didn’t care. Even as her sobs started to subside and she started to feel a bit embarrassed about being curled up in his arms, she curled up into a smaller ball, smiling slightly as his arms tightened._

_“You feeling better?”_

_“Gosh I am so sorry” she said, suddenly trying to leave his arms but failing, his vampire strength stopping her from moving._

_“Stay.” He mumbled, pressing a kiss to her neck, she stiffened but relaxed as he did nothing else. “Zoe, dragostea mea” he mumbled._

_“Let me up Count.” She said, pushing away from him and standing. He smiled up at her_ _and_ _climbed to his feet._

_“Dragostea mea?” She questioned._

_“Romanian. It means my love.”_

_“Why the hell would you call me that?”_

_“How are you feeling?” He asked, he sighed to himself, not the first time he had asked a Van Helsing how they felt, though he was fairly sure he had used the same tone of voice. He had cared about Agatha, in a way. He just knew that he cared for Zoe more._

_“Not important._

_“It is to me.”_

_“I want to die. I hurt.” She whispered finally, he reached out a hand and cupped her face, wiping the lone tear away with his thumb._

_“Where are you?”_

_“Nice try, I won’t tell you.”_

_“I will find you.” He promised vehemently_

_“It doesn’t matter, I am dying.”_

_“Paraphrased slightly but, then when you are gone, I shall collect the stars each night and build my own night sky so I shall have something to hold onto forever.”_

_“That is beautiful.”_

_“It is stolen, I admit, but yes beautiful.” He sighed and wiped another stray tear away. “Zoe, I don’t want to lose you.”_

_“I’m not yours to lose Count.” She said, not wanting him to know that she cared, still doing everything she could to deny what her heart had been telling her._

_“I think you are Zoe.” He whispered, “I think you’re mine. Be mine.” He implored her, she could hear a begging tone in his voice, and see something in his face that she had never expected to see, he cared for her. She sighed and he held out a hand she lifted hers to meet his and he took it gently and wrapped an arm around her, holding her against him as she seemed to wilt slightly. He was warm and strong, and Zoe hated herself. How could she love him? A man who had killed mercilessly as a human and destroyed people as a Vampire. The Devil in the guise of man, a feral Beast who killed without remorse._

_“Am I a monster?” She whispered, letting him pull her against his chest._

_“Why would you think that?” He whispered into her hair, before tucking it behind her ear and tilting her face up._

_“Because, and God knows I don’t understand it, I have fallen in love with you.”_

_“Zoe.” He breathed, slowly lowering his head, and kissing her. It was soft and gentle, a bit like he was so scared of hurting her, but as Zoe wrapped her arms around his neck, he tightened his arms around her waist and deepened their kiss._

_“Where are you Zoe?” He asked a few minutes later as the kiss ended. “Let me come to you.”_

_“No Count.”_

_“Zoe, let me help you. Let me save you, let me love you. Please.”_

_She stepped out of his arms, backing away slowly from him. She was aware that the dream was fading, and she smiled, tear filled eyes holding onto the image of him stood, in the grove of trees that she had placed them in. He was bathed in sunlight and looked so handsome, so human. As the grove carried on fading, she smiled a sad smile and whispered_

_“I love you Vlad.”_

_“Zoe” he bellowed, charging towards her. He reached for her but missed as the dream faded._

Dracula woke with a bellow.

“Zoe.” He breathed, climbing from his bed, and pulling trousers on. He grabbed his phone and dialled Zoe’s number, almost howling in pain when it didn’t connect. He stood, still breathing heavily, in the middle of the room, feeling lost and suddenly very very alone.

“Frank,” He bellowed, storming from the room. He threw the doors to his living room open and snarled “Find me Zoe Van Helsing.” Frank darted from the room, rushing off to do his masters bidding, as Dracula rubbed his chest, right over where his heart was. It hurt, the withered heart in his chest that hadn’t beat in over 500 years, hurt. How could she tell him she loved him and then vanish? He growled; the sound low in his chest as he turned, his right fist flying into a statue on the side, obliterating it. He snarled; he’d never liked that stupid bust of a woman anyway.

Their search had been fruitless and no matter how many times he tried to find her in his dreams, she had remained elusive. He kept thinking he would see her out of the corner of his eye but as soon as he turned, she was gone. Frank had found no mention of her and had suggested that she had finally died quietly and alone. He had been furious with his lawyer and had hurled a glass of blood at his head when he had suggested it, but Dracula knew deep down that Frank had probably been right. The lack of obituary had him hoping but in the weeks since their last dream he was slowly losing all hope. Resigning himself to a life with Lucy as a bride, not one he was now looking forward to as much as he had been, he once again turned his attention to the young woman and left his home, heading for hers.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I'm a day late posting - I am trying to keep to a schedule of posting on a Friday!

“You don’t look very surprised.”

“You don’t look very dead.” He said, Zoe thought she saw a flash of something in his eyes, but it was so brief that she convinced herself she’d made it up.

“I’m getting there.” She told him, entering his apartment. It hadn’t been hard for her and Jack to find him and as she told him that, she thought that she saw pride flash in his eyes. Though as he caressed Lucy’s face and promised to be with her forever, she was sure her heart broke. She wanted to hate him, to ram the stake Jack had brought with him into his chest, but instead, as her last act for the man she loved, she and Agatha gave him everything he had wished for, for 500 years. The sunlight. She’d been unable to keep the smile from her face as she had finally seen him bathed in real sunlight, the emotion on his face had been a balm to her pain. He’d never looked more human, and as she was convinced, she was taking her last breaths, she’d never loved him more. The monster finally a man, after all, he didn’t need to hide in the Darkness like monsters would, he could live as a man in the daylight.

_Fire burnt; limbs entwined. Love discovered._

_“After all this time, did you think I’d let it hurt?”_

Dracula shot off the table, scrabbling away from the prone woman beside him.

“Well shit.” He muttered. He was supposed to have died. Her blood was poison and considering the amount he had drunk there was no way his body could have healed that fast.

The dream had been nice though, and not one he had chosen. On the rare occasion that he had totally lost control, his own ability to control the dreamscape would fail him, and his victim’s dreams would always take over. Being intimate with Zoe, although something he longed for, was not something that he had even imaged would happen. Although, he supposed, it wasn’t just Zoe he had been intimate with, Agatha had been part of Zoe too. It had been her Dutch accent that had been begging him to take her harder, it had also been Agatha who had whispered that she’d loved him, but Zoe’s English accent had echoed the sentiment.

Scrubbing a hand over his face, he forced himself to look away from Zoe, and look out over London. The sun was up, although obscured by dark and moody clouds, and he realised that without the lights that had lit up the night, London was a dreary miserable place. Maybe it was time to move again, go back to his solitude. He wouldn’t leave England; he liked the place too much. But he was an aristocrat and if Frank could get his titles returned, he would be able to be a Prince again, even though Wallachia had long since been dissolved. He sighed and turned, once again looking at the woman on his table. She was so still, though if he lost focus for a second, he could imagine that her chest was rising and falling.

If he had known he would survive, he wouldn’t have done it. He had chosen to embrace death, to welcome it as an old friend, but to live, knowing that he had killed Zoe, and Agatha, again, well that wasn’t really living. It would be existing. When Seward found out that he’d killed another friend of his, maybe he would let the younger man stake him. He sighed deeply and moved away from the window, taking his phone from his pocket before sighing and placing it on the table. He moved over to the decanter than he had arranged for Lucy and lifting it to his mouth, drained it in several long gulps. Feeling a bit better, and less sickly, he finally plucked up the courage to move Zoe.

As he gathered her into his arms, he decided that she hadn’t long died, she was still warm and although he didn’t like the term, floppy. Lifting slightly, he nearly dropped her as she let out a groan. Laying her back down, arranging her limbs slightly he carefully moved away, watching, and realising that she wasn’t dead. Or if she had been, she wasn’t any longer.

“Fuck.” She mumbled and he raised his eyebrows, such language. He’d managed so to refrain from using vulgar language, but knew it would soon creep in, the modern vernacular never did take long to infuse into his vocabulary.

“Please tell me you got the number plate?” She mumbled as she straightened up, pulling her coat around herself as is she was cold.

“Pardon.” He finally managed to articulate. This was not good; she was not going to be impressed. For split second, he wondered if he could escape before she truly woke up, but he realised that was the coward’s way out. He had to face the consequences of his actions.

“Truck, that hit me. Ohh never mind. What happened?”

“Good question.” He muttered, standing back, and letting her gather her bearings.

“Oh fuck.” She muttered again and Dracula knew the moment she registered that she, and he, were alive. “We’re not dead.” She glared at him as more memories came back. “You drank my blood; we had an opiate dream. You bastard.”

“Zoe. Stop.” He said skirting away from her as she climbed from the table on very unsteady legs trying to get to him.

“Vlad you are a grade A bastard.” She snarled. And he froze, she had called him by his name, granted she was pissed at him and it was more of a snarl of his name, but still she’d used it. And though he’d once longed to hear his name called again, he found that he didn’t like it.

“You hurt me Vlad. With Lucy, I mean for God’s sake, really?! She was a fucking child. And Christ would it kill you to like someone with some brains. Fucking Hell.” She ranted at him, causing him to have to hide a smile. God the fire in the woman made his blood sing.

“Lucy meant nothing to me.”

“A matter of hours ago you were promising to be with her forever. That’s a pretty rapid 180 turn.”

“She was-“ He sighed as if he was struggling for words. “A new flavour, not one I’d had before. She meant nothing to me.”

“So why turn her. Don’t bloody answer that.” She snapped as he opened his mouth to reply. “You stole a girl’s life from her.”

“Oh please.” He snarled “That ‘life’ she was so busy leading would have killed her in a few years anyway.”

“That’s no excuse. You still intended to make her your bride. Did you love her?”

“No.” He said. “After our last dream, I thought you had died, and I felt alone.”

“So, what, that makes killing Lucy ok.”

“I have been alone for 400 years Zoe, everyone I have ever cared for is gone. Jonathan threw himself off a cliff, Lucy begged her ex-lover to kill her. Both would rather face death than spend any time with me.” He roared at her, suddenly grateful that in his pacing during their argument he had moved to the other side of the room and the table separated them again.

“Is it any bloody wonder when you killed them.” Zoe snapped at him. “You killed them, why would anyone want to spend time with their murderer? You vowed to spend your life with Lucy, the stupid child who had no idea what you were doing to her, and when that went wrong what, you brush it off as an experiment? And to top it all off, then you dared to have sex with me, in the dream. You are a pig.” she snapped at him.

“Actually, that was your dream.” He said quietly and Zoe could see that some of the fight was leaving him. He walked back from the opposite side of the table and stood in front of her.

“What?” She said quietly.

“I lost control Zoe, of the dreamscape, your blood was poisoning me, and I couldn’t help it. It was very much your dream, one I definitely enjoyed.” He sighed quietly, though he took a step back as his cheeky grin wasn’t appreciated and Zoe glared at him, raising a hand to slap him. He raised his hands in surrender and perched on the edge of the table. He watched as the colour in her face returned and the bags under her eyes seemed to fade. Every breath she took was stronger as well and he could tell she was feeling better.

“Am I dead?” She whispered softly. He stood from his position against the table and said

“At this moment, you are transitioning. I drained you Zoe, there is no way you could survive the amount I took and not be like me.

“You killed me.”

“Zoe, Zoe, Zoe.” He chided “It is what you wanted, to die peacefully, with a little pain as possible. You didn’t die alone and unloved Zoe.”

“I wasn’t alone, was I? Agatha haunted my every move, that’s beside the point. I still died Count.”

“Agatha?”

“Ever since I drank your blood, she has haunted me. Given me advice, begged me to kill you, helped me.”

“She failed; do you know she was the one who gave me back the light last night. It was her who begged me to fuck harder during the dream. Did she have control of you?”

“I know that, I was totally aware of what was going on last night. Agatha was complex, she loved the idea of you, but hated what you did. And it wasn’t control, not really. But I don’t know what it was. What I don’t understand is why in my last breaths she decided that the Devil was allowed redemption.”

“Maybe I was just that good.” He snapped at her, his frustration evident.

“Oh, get over yourself. Agatha is gone now, I may have her thoughts and feelings, but now I’m just me. And I died. In your arms. She must be rolling in her grave.”

“Does she have a grave?” He snarked back at her “Or is she still at the bottom of the North Sea?”

“You bastard.” She went to slap him, but he caught her hand running his thumb softly over the skin, and Zoe felt the fight go out of her.

“You died in the arms of someone who loves you, someone, who maybe one day, you could love back.” He said softly.

“I already do, you know that, and to be honest I kind of hate myself for it. I have fallen in love with the Devil. You kill people Vlad. I cannot let that happen.”

“Please don’t call me that. I don’t like it from you.”

“My apologies Count Dracula.”

“Zoe. Please.” He begged her, he didn’t know why he didn’t like it, but there was something about the way she used his human name that just grated at him. And the formality of being called ‘The Count’ wasn’t the intimacy that he wanted from her.

“What do you want me to call you then, His Royal Highness the High and Mighty Arsehole?”

“Zoe! Let’s not argue about this. Not Vlad and not Count. Dracula is fine. Lucy called me D or babe but I’d rather not that either.” He smiled softly at her and held out a hand. He smiled down at her when she accepted his invitation and curled into his chest. This was what he had missed for 400 years, someone to love, rather than someone to control. He hadn’t loved anyone, for an exceptionally long time and it felt strange holding someone for the simple reason that he wanted to. He didn’t want to feed, or bite her, he just wanted to hold her.

“Draak.” She mumbled. He sighed, Dutch for dragon wasn’t exactly what he had in mind, but it sounded modern, at least the way Zoe mumbled it, it did. And was infinitely better than Vlad.

“Thank You.” She mumbled into his chest. “I wasn’t ready to die, to give up. I can achieve some of the things I dreamed about now.” He released the breath he was holding and kissed the top of her head and said

“Do you forgive me enough, Dr Helsing, to take me to bed and make a nearly honest man out of me.” He asked cheekily pushing his luck, grinning down at her. He shot to full hardness when Zoe giggled and nodded her head

“You think you can remember what to do, I understand it has been a while.” He growled at her as she teased him, she moved out of his arms, and sashayed away from him. He grinned as he lazily chased her. This was better, this was the relationship he wanted with Zoe. Something that challenged him, but ultimately was fun and loving.

“400 years, but I was a Prince, I fucked and fought. Usually in that order.” He muttered, backing Zoe against the wall, and lowering his head. The kiss was soft and gentle, but as it turned more passionate it turned harder and fiercer and both fought for dominance. When Zoe’s tongue brushed his teeth, making a minuscule cut on her tongue, he felt his fangs drop instantly and he knew that his eyes would be blood red. He tore himself away from her and spun, leaning on the huge dining table trying to get back in control. He jumped when he felt Zoe rest a hand on his back,

“Zoe.” He let out a strangled groan, fighting himself.

Zoe sighed as he heaved breaths he didn’t need, trying to regain control. She hadn’t meant to kick his blood lust in, though she found it interesting that she was able to do it.

“Let me see.”

“No.” He growled out, a snarl at the end.

“Dracula, let me see.” He spun and grabbed her throat, once again backing her against the wall. His hair had flopped down slightly making him seem even younger, though no less imposing. She matched his gaze fearlessly and when she could go no further back, she snapped at him

“Are you done? You don’t scare me Dracula.” She rested a hand on his cheek, watching as his eyes closed and his tongue nipped out to lick at her pulse point, he growled low, a warning, but she stayed as still as she could, one hand on his face, one on his chest as he breathed.

“Show me.” His eyes opened again, and Zoe could see they were still ringed with blood. It was an interesting phenomenon, the lust for blood causing more blood to flood his eyes. She ran her thumb over his lips, and she managed to not jump when he snapped at it. There wasn’t necessarily a playful look in his eyes, but she knew that he was gaining control, making his rage something normal and something that she didn’t fear. Not that she had much to fear from the Vampire, she was transitioning and soon she would feel that same rage if she wasn’t able to control herself.

“Show me.” She whispered again and she watched with fascination as he drew back his lips and showed his fangs, growling deep as he did so. She smiled up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and running her hands into his hair, hinting that she wanted a kiss by pulling his head down.

“Be careful.” He rumbled, before giving into her request and kissing her. He growled deeply again, when Zoe turned the kiss deeper and he pinned her to the wall pushing his hips against her. She groaned as he took control of the kiss, leaving her arms wrapped around his neck as he slid his hands down her body and lifted her into his arms. She didn’t hesitate to wrap her legs around his waist, and she broke the kiss off as he started to walk through the apartment.

She smiled at him, pleased to see that his eyes were back to normal and that his fangs had retracted. Not that he was not just as handsome with blood red eyes and fangs, if she was totally honest with herself, she definitely preferred him without. God he was handsome, dark, Slavic, and mysterious. There was much about him that Zoe and Agatha hadn’t known, and much that she wanted to learn. But for now, all she wanted to know was what that expanse of skin she had seen in her dreams tasted like and if he was as good as he bragged about.

Zoe giggled when he stumbled slightly carrying her up the most ridiculous set of stairs that she had even seen but stopped at the glare he sent her way. As punishment he slammed her into the wall at the top, hard enough to make her gasp and he took advantage of the situation and plundered her mouth with his tongue.

They didn’t stay against the wall long; he broke the kiss and finished the journey to his bedroom. It was everything she had expected it to be, opulent with furniture that looks like if you sat on it, it would crumple under you. And even though it was what she expected, she hated it. The only thing that looked like it wouldn’t break was his bed, and even that was stereotypically a Prince’s bed. The dark wood was intricately carved with a beautiful woodland scene on the headboard and a river scene on the footboard, the dark blood red sheets were of the finest quality and the dark drapes that framed the 4-poster had intricate designs on them as well. All in all, it was everything Zoe expected a Prince’s bed to look like. Dracula stopped and let Zoe take in his bedroom as she slid down his body, before cupping her face and kissing her softly.

“What do you think?”

“I suppose it’s better than a coffin.”

He huffed a laugh and Zoe cupped his face in her hands.

“You don’t need to try and impress me.” She said to him, softly.

“Showing off is what I do Zoe.” He whispered, before bending and kissing her. He didn’t move further than the doorway and Zoe realised that the curtains were open, and the sunlight was streaming through. She smirked at him and took several steps into the sunlight, smiling as he instinctively reached to stop her but managed to stop himself. It was nice to feel the warmth on her skin. It had been too long since she had been outside.

“It won’t hurt you.”

“Instinct. It’s going to take a while to break it.” He took the hand that she offered and took a deep breath before walking into the sunlight. Zoe stroked his cheek as he shuddered, his face again full of pain, and he stepped further into the room hissing slightly. She reached for the buttons on his shirt and smiled as he stood still, letting the sunlight hit his bare chest for the first time in hundreds of years as she undid the buttons. She stroked the fur on his chest as if she was looking for something and he looked down at her.

“You know I won’t sparkle right?”

Zoe laughed and reached up to kiss him.

“Ohh I know.”

“Infernal films.” He mumbled, shrugging off his jacket and shirt, leaving him stood in his suit trousers. He rolled his shoulders but didn’t move as Zoe crossed to the curtains intending to close them, but stopped when he quietly said

“Don’t. I want to see you in the sunlight.” He smiled at her before walking over, standing behind her, stopping her from turning to face him.

“Stay looking at London.”

He carefully lifted her hair away from her neck, and the scar he had left all those months ago, and he dropped a soft kiss onto the damaged skin. He inhaled deeply and before dropping another kiss on the skin and skimming his hands up her side. She’d shed her jacket while yelling at him and was left in a light blue top. He carefully untucked it from her trousers and pulled it up over her head leaving her stood by the window topless, she hadn’t bothered with a bra in her haste to get to him.

“Exquisite.” He whispered, skimming his fingers over her torso, gently rolling her nipples as he ran his hands over her breasts.

“Truly exquisite.” He gripped her hips softly, she felt him thrust slightly, and Zoe knew that he was trying to be as gentle as possible with her. He was, of course, still considerably stronger than her and if he played a bit rough then she could get hurt, but once her transition was complete, she knew he wouldn’t worry as much.

She intertwined their fingers as their hands rested over her belly, before twisting her head back to kiss him. It wasn’t particularly comfortable and was awkward, so she turned in his arms and pressed herself against him, hiding the sunken and grey skin of her body. He ran his hands down her back, before resting on her hips and pushing her away slightly.

He smiled down at her and said

“You are exquisite, do not doubt that iubit.” He led her away from the window, his hand engulfing her smaller one and gently pushed her to sit on the edge of the bed. 

This time it was her grinning naughtily at him as she undid his slacks. From here she could understand how he had got his formidable reputation, at nearly two meters high himself, on his warhorse he would have been nearly 3 and a half meters high. He would have been colossal and frightening, but here and now, he was simply stunning. He was still every bit the aristocrat he’d been in life. Tall and imposing, it was no wonder he had been arrogant, he would have towered over everyone.

She ran her fingers over the scar on his hip, before tugging and his waistband so that she could trace it with her tongue. He hissed slightly but didn’t say anything as she nipped his hipbone, causing him to thrust involuntarily.

“Don’t tease me iubit, it’s been rather a while and I am fighting to keep control as it is.” He said quietly, she smirked up at him and nipped his hipbone again before reaching up and running a fingertip over the scar that had ended his life.

“Scholars believe,” she started, moving to kneel on the bed as she reached to kiss the scar, “that you were decapitated, and your head was sent to a Sultan in Constantinople.”

“It’s better than telling people my body vanished.” He muttered, staying still as Zoe dropped kisses over his chest.

“I will,” he groaned as she bit a nipple, “tell you everything. If … zeu … don’t stop.” He groaned as she dropped another kiss on his stomach, not quite washboard but definitely not the Dadbod he had been getting. She didn’t look up at him as she pushed his slacks and underwear down his legs. She smiled at him when he stepped out of them, leaving him totally naked in front of her. He stepped back, and like their dream spread his arms.

“Suffer unto me.” He growled grinning, Zoe glared and him and grabbed one of his pillows tossing it at him. Laughing when he caught it and threw it back.

“You are an arsehole.” She said, climbing from the bed and slipping out of the rest of her clothes. He growled low in his chest and quicker than a flash of the eye, he had lifted Zoe and tossed her onto the middle of his bed and was on top of her.

“God, give a girl some warning.” She muttered as he lifted himself onto his elbows to stop from squashing her.

“How will I find you Zoe? Will I find you dripping? How long has it been Zoe?” He whispered into her ear and sliding a big hand down her body.

“Get a move on.” She grumbled at him, cradling his body in between her legs, running her fingers into his hair, as he ran a finger softly over her, smirking as it came away coated with her juices.

“No.” He snarled, kissing her scar. He licked her collarbone before nipping at it, just enough to threaten to break the skin, but not enough to actually do it. She groaned and arched under him as he latched onto a nipple, sucking, and nipping again, but never breaking the skin. Zoe groaned as he slowly slid down her body still licking, nipping, and sucking as he went. He threw a dirty smirk at her as he lowered his mouth to her most intimate area and ran a tongue over her.

“God.” She gasped, one hand fisting in his hair as the other pinched her own nipple.

“Not, God.” He mumbled, lifting his head slightly. He batted her hand away from her nipple and took its place as he made himself comfortable, lifting her legs over his shoulders. He didn’t even let Zoe start to mumble a word of protest as he buried his face between her legs again and her head dropped back into the pillows.

It didn’t take long for her to be writhing about, his tongue on her clit as he buried a finger then two inside of her. She could feel him smiling against her thigh as she wriggled above him.

“Draak, please.” She begged, glaring at him as he lifted his head and chuckled.

“My, my, you are impatient.” He smiled at her but ignored her begging as he buried his face between her legs again, only relenting his attack on her clit when she finally gave in and bellowed his name, clamping his head between her thighs. He kept his fingers buried inside her as she rode out the wave, throwing a very triumphant grin at her when she collapsed spent, back onto the pillows and sheets.

“God.” She mumbled again, and he laughed.

“Zoe, my ego is big enough, I think calling me God is a bad idea.”

“Oh shut up.” She mumbled at him, smiling, and accepting his soft kiss as he crawled back up her body and settled himself on top of her. Grasping her knee, he lifted so he was cradled comfortably, and he smiled down at her.

“Ready?” He asked quietly as he positioned himself. A quick nodded and Zoe groaned as he slid inside her. He saw rather than felt her wince and he stilled instantly.

“I’m good, don’t let it go to your head, your just bigger than I’ve had before. And it’s been a while for me too.” She glared at him making him smirk, but even he groaned when she wiggled, and he slid deeper.

“God” She breathed, before hitting him in the chest as he chuckled.

“Say it again.” He whispered into her ear as he started to move slowly. He growled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered

“God. Harder. Faster.” He growled and without complaining followed her instructions. It may have been over 400 years for him, and as much as Zoe loathed to admit it, her lovers had been few and far between, something about the way that they were linked to one another, was making everything feel so much more intense. She didn’t remember sex being like this, feeling as wonderful as it did with his cock buried deep inside her. Her previous lovers had made it feel like a chore, a quick fuck to get themselves off, then she could get on with life, but this, this felt good. Very very good.

Sliding his arms under her back, he carefully gripped her shoulders and rolled his hips, mirroring the move when Zoe gasped and growled

“There - oh god – yes - so good.” He groaned, burying his face in her neck, nipping at the skin. She groaned again at the feeling of his teeth and knew that if she offered, he wouldn’t hesitate. He dropped a kiss onto her vein, before running a tongue up it, but moved his mouth away, kissing her shoulder.

“Harder, faster. Oh god yes”, she growled at him as he kept his movements steady, hitting the spot again and again, before changing tact and keeping his thrusts slower and longer, making Zoe gasp and breathe his name every time. He laughed out loud when he surged far enough to lodge behind her cervix, causing Zoe to bellow out his name, coming extremely hard and very suddenly. She tightened so much he was almost convinced she could actually squeeze his cock off. He thrust a few times, but the sensations were too much for him and he stilled, he didn’t want to come yet, he was sure he could fuck another orgasm out of her first. It may have been a while for him, but he knew he’d hold on.

As Zoe came back down from her orgasm, she realised that he hadn’t moved and was totally still above her, there was a real smile on his face as he watched her and when she lifted her head, he met her halfway for a slow and sensual kiss.

“Your turn.” She mumbled at him and he smiled nodding.

He started moving again and Zoe suddenly realised that he was holding back, he wasn’t using all the power that his large body held.

“I won’t break Dracula.”

“Until I trust my control, I fear hurting you.”

“You are not going to hurt me.” He kept his movements as they were, frustrating Zoe into hitting his shoulder. When he refused move any faster, even at her urging, she hit him again, causing him to lift his head and snarl at her, his eyes were red rimmed, and his fangs were down. She smirked up at him and cupped a cheek with one hand, wrapping her other around his neck and holding him tight.

“Come on Dracula. I won’t break.”

“One.Should.Never.Rush.A.Nun.” He gasped out punctuating his words with thrusts.

“Oh, for fucks sake. I hate to break it to you, but I am not a fucking nun, and I never was.” She snapped at him gasping as he thrust particularly hard, “You said you remember what to do, but I am starting to think you don’t. Can you even come?”

“Zoe. Be. Quiet.” He snarled, giving into the feelings coursing through his body and starting to really slam into her body. The bed creaked at his movements and Zoe was staggered but pleased to feel another orgasm building. He dropped his head onto her shoulder as he pounded into her body, and she smiled against his shoulder. She knew he wouldn’t be able to resist showing what he could do if she baited him long enough and she would never let him fuck her any other way. He was almost animalistic in his noises and she was more turned on than she had ever been.

“Draak.” She whispered, licking his ear as his thrust started to lose any semblance of control. “Come.” She commanded, moving her mouth from his ear, and biting down on his shoulder. She didn’t break the skin, her teeth yet to go through the change, but the feeling was enough, and she knew the second his climax hit him. He roared, throwing his head back, his eyes wide open and blood red, his fangs larger than she had ever seen them. Zoe watched as his big body shuddered, thrusting without control, before he looked down at her, and growled, bowing his head, and latching onto her neck. He didn’t break the skin, but it was enough for Zoe and his final thrust sent her over the precipice and she came for a third time, holding his mouth against her as she shuddered and flexed on his still hard cock. He thrust against her a few times as she rode out her orgasm before flopping bonelessly on top of her. Both were breathing heavily, even though it wasn’t something he needed to do.

“Fuck Zoe.” He muttered, nuzzling at her neck a little. “Squashing you?” He muttered a few minutes later when he finally had enough energy to lift his head from her neck.

“Ohh hell no. You’re good.” He pushed himself up slightly and smirked naughtily down at her

“I am, aren’t I?”

“God, your ego is so massive. How do you fit in a room?” She groaned as he slid out of her, before falling to her side and pulling her against him.

“I don’t want you going back to the foundation.”

“Ohh, God. The moment.” Zoe muttered at him, slapping his chest

“We will have plenty of moments Iubit.” He said quietly.

“Dracula, you do realise we need to talk.”

“Now who is ruining the moment.” He muttered. “Stop hitting me Zoe.” Catching her hands as she went to smack him again.

“I mean it.”

“I know.” He muttered. “Later, sleep now.” She sighed then grinned as he rolled onto his side, pulling her flush against him, and almost instantly started snoring. It was a very human thing to do and if anyone asked Zoe would have had to admit that she fell in love with him just a little bit more in that moment. Who knew that the 6-foot 4 plus vampire liked a post sex snuggle?


	4. Chapter 4

“Zoe.” He asked blearily, “what are you doing?” Zoe turned to look at him and smiled, he was leaning against the door jam, with his arms crossed, his hair gorgeously tousled and only a pair of trousers on. She’d woken after a few hours, her stomach grumbling so had slid out of his arms and headed into the kitchen.

“Breakfast. I’m hungry.” She replied, pulling a face at him like he was totally stupid. He glared slightly and replied

“Zoe. You are a vampire; you don’t need food.”

“I do. Harker did.”

“Johnny?”

“Jonathan Harker, yes. According to Agatha’s journals he ate and drank normally.”

“But he was a vampire. We don’t need food.”

“Well Jonathan did. And I do too. Do you want some?”

“You, my love, are going to challenge and change everything I know. Sunlight, the cross and now food? Am I to suddenly appear young again in the mirror? Anyway, what is it?”

“Pancakes with strawberries, mango and chocolate sauce. What do you mean about the mirror?”

“Later. Where did you get them from?”

“I am making them. You had the ingredients and fresh fruit – why?” He looked at her and shook his head slightly, smiling brightly at her.

“I haven’t eaten in a very long time, maybe Frank left them.” He mumbled, coming up behind her and wrapping an arm around her, pulling her back against him. She’d stolen his shirt, so he tugged on the collar, popping the few buttons that held it shut, and he kissed her scar as he pushed it from her shoulders and muttered

“Thief” she spun in his arms wrapping hers around his neck and groaned when he lifted her onto the counter. He smirked at her, before undoing his trousers and slipping inside her. As he dropped small kisses and little bites to her neck, she let her head fall back to rest against the cupboard. He scraped his teeth against her scar, and she sunk her fingers into his hair, tugging at the onyx locks.

“Don’t you dare.” She growled. He pulled back smiling and said

“I can wait.” He gave a hard thrust and Zoe’s head smacked back into the door again. Dracula growled and wrapping his arms around her he kicked his trousers off and held her as he walked to the massive dining table. He went to lay her back onto to the table, but she pulled his head away from her neck and said

“On your back.” He glared at her but shifted so that he was laying on the cold marble, still buried deep inside her. She was a bit tender from their fucking the night before, but the feel of that soft steel buried inside her again was intoxicating. And being able to look down upon him as he lay back on the table, left her feeling quite powerful. She smiled down and him and decided that she wanted to play with her vampire. She spread his arms for him, and muttered a command to stay, which was met with a raised eyebrow. She smiled down at him, moving slightly causing him to groan. She could see him fight with himself but stayed splayed out on the table, his nails scratching grooves into the tabletop as he forced himself to stay still.

“Good Boy.” She mumbled, moving on him, and trailing her own hands down her body, pinching at her own nipples, and smiling as the man below her all but whined at the sight. She knew he wouldn’t resist for long, so whilst she had him as she wanted him, she ran a hand over his chest, flicking and pinching his nipples and as she rocked, gripping his sides when he smirked and thrust up sharply, unsettling her slightly. She glared down at him before returning to his nipples and finally stroking up his chest to his neck. His eyes immediately flashed red as she stroked a single finger down his jugular, where he should have had a pulse. He growled at her and quicker than her eyes could see, slashed his own throat, and sat up, forcing her mouth to his neck.

“Feed.” He commanded and although her mind rebelled at the action, instinct took over and as she rocked on his cock, she drank his blood.

He could feel every movement of her body as she drew his blood from his neck. He growled deeply, relishing in the feel as her fangs arrived, and she finally sunk them into his neck. It was something he had never felt before, having never allowed anyone to feed from his own vein. Keeping himself out of the opiate dream was harder than he had expected, but he kept enough of his mind to run a hand down her body, pinching and tugging at her nipples as he went. And when he reached her core, he lightly stroked and circled, feeling her movements on his cock falter as she got closer. He nipped at her neck and shoulder as she fed but never broke the skin, and one hard thrust had her coming apart above him, ripping her new fangs from his throat and throwing her head back.

“Yes. Baby.” He growled, holding her hips as he thrust towards his own completion, blood dripping from her fangs and from his neck onto his chest and down his abs as he moved. It didn’t take him long to find release and he all but howled as he held her still and used her body, filling her. When Zoe started lapping at his neck several minutes later, he realised he was still bleeding, so gently pushed her away and twisted the skin back together. She shivered slightly as she rested against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, as if he could hold some heat in.

“Bath?” He asked quietly, feeling her nod, he slipped carefully from her body, kissing her softly as she hissed. Keeping her against his chest he slid from the table, ignoring the blood and bodily fluids that they left behind. He carried her up to his bedroom and sat her on the bed. She smiled up at him and he cupped her face, dropping a kiss on her upturned mouth. He sighed and whispered

“Zoe, I haven’t loved anyone in hundreds of years, but to lose you would be to lose what little of my humanity I have left. If you die, I will let Seward stake me. I found why I was afraid to die. I didn’t want to die without truly falling in love. I wanted to see the sun again after all, what is sunlight, but the face of one’s beloved.”

“And that is why I do not fear you Draak. You wouldn’t hurt me.” She smiled up at him. He stood stock still, her vicious vampire, essentially tamed by her love. It was a strange feeling, knowing that the beast was under her control. The blood rage of the vampire was a separate beast to the tame vampire.

“I’m like you, now aren’t I? In drinking blood, I completed my transformation. You finally have a Bride again.” She asked him quietly as he walked to the bathroom, she stood and followed him, dropping onto the closed lid of the toilet as he ran the bath. He looked round at her before dropping onto his haunches and cupping her face

“Yes Zoe. But I think you are more than me, and much much more than a simple Bride. You are my Queen. Loosing you would turn me feral. I would never be tameable again.”

“Can a Beast truly claim he has been tamed.” She said. He glared at her, and she couldn’t help, for a split second, wonder if she had totally lost her mind. The beast before her, still covered the blood she hadn’t licked up, was calm at the moment, but was it all an elaborate illusion?

“Ohh Zoe, haven’t you figured it out yet? You have tamed the beast. Zoe, I haven’t felt this alive and sane, and bloodlust free in years.” He smiled and said “You are the only person I have ever given my blood to; Agatha, not Lucy, was the first person to willingly open her vein for me. Van Helsing’s are terribly brave.” He lifted her knuckles to his mouth, before kissing them and saying, “I love you, my Queen. Countess Dracula. You will be my finest Bride.” She pulled a face at the word Bride, but grabbed his face and said

“I will be your final Bride. Your very last.”

“You will be my Queen. And maybe one day my wife.” He whispered. She shrugged her shoulders at him, pushing his shoulder, smiling.

“You’ll have to propose better than that. Not yet though.” She told him quickly. He nodded and smiled standing, turning the taps off and testing the water. He grabbed a cloth and quickly scrubbed the blood from his torso before climbing into the tub. The muscles in his legs and arse flexing as he moved. It was a good thing it was such a big tub as they were both tall people and they wouldn’t have fitted in anything smaller. He held out a hand and she joined him in the tub, settling against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and said

“You are the best of me Zoe. I don’t want to lose you.” He kissed her neck and sighed, wrapping his arms around her as he relaxed.

“We need to talk.”

“Zoe, just enjoy this.” He muttered, kissing her shoulder as he let his hands wander.

“You do realise I am recovering from cancer.” She huffed at him, catching his hands. He laughed and wrapped his arms around her.

“So, what happens now Zoe?” He asked quietly, dipping his head, and kissing her neck.

“I don’t know Draak. I can’t let you run around murdering people, but neither of us can survive without blood. I doubt I will ever be strong enough to hunt for myself.”

“Blood is lives Zoe.”

“I know Draak. We’ll find a way. What have you been doing recently?”

“Probably best you don’t know.” He rumbled, “But Renfield has been rather good at finding people with skills I wished to acquire. And I meant what I said earlier. I don’t want you going back to the Foundation. I don’t trust them.”

“That is where my work is Dracula.”

“You can do your work anywhere.”

“My friends are there too Draak. I can’t just abandon Kate and Jack and my team. Christ, I better call Kate.”

“Tomorrow.” He whispered. “Zoe, I will give you the World, you just have to ask.”

“I know you would.” She replied, running her fingers up and down his legs, massaging the muscles underneath. “I understand your reluctance for me to go back. But I can’t see any other option.”

“What would you need?” he asked.

“I need to go back to the foundation. At least for a while.” He sighed in her ear and said

“Fine. But I’m coming to Whitby with you.”

“Ok.” She whispered, snuggling against his chest and smiling at the feel of his fur on her back. She shot upright, swearing, and jerking him awake as he dozed behind her and jumped out of the tub.

“Zoe, what?” He mumbled

“I left the stove on.” She gasped, raking through his wardrobe for a shirt and tearing out of the room, almost slipping as she rushed down the stairs. The laughter followed her down the stairs and into the kitchen as she rushed around.

She wasn’t surprised when 10 minutes later Dracula reappeared, slightly damp but dressed in slacks and a shirt with a waistcoat over the top, looking every bit the aristocrat that he was. He watched her as she shuffled around the kitchen making breakfast.

“So, do you want some?” She asked him, chopping the strawberries and every so often popping a slice into her mouth. He nodded his head and but muttered

“This is not going to go well.” She smacked his arm but handed him a plate before jumping onto the seats at the breakfast bar and tucking into her meal. Dracula joined her at the bar and she subtly watched as he started to eat. She knew that he was only doing this for her because she had asked. But as he didn’t seem to be suffering as he ate; she took that as a small win. They would always need blood, but at least she wouldn’t have to give up her favourite foods. And she hoped that maybe she could introduce him to them too.

“Are you doing ok?”

“I don’t hurt too badly, if that is what you mean.” He replied, there was something in his tone that she didn’t like. “Yes, my stomach is cramping but it’s not bad.”

“You don’t have to eat.” She snapped at him.

“Zoe, it’s been 450 years. I’m not arguing with you about this. If you want to eat, fine. I just don’t see the point.” He scowled at her but focused on his plate and finished the meal.

“I want to go back to Whitby today.” His head shot up to look at her, but he smiled and said

“Why today?” He sighed and said “Fine. Frank will drive you.”

“You are not coming with me?” He shook his head as he stood, taking both of their empty plates, and placing them on the counter before turning,

“I wasn’t planning on leaving London yet, however, did you want me to?”

“Yes.” She whispered. He cupped a cheek and said

“Okay. Anything here can wait. I’ll call Frank.” He kissed her softly and after tugging his waistcoat down slightly he walked out of the kitchen. Zoe quickly tidied, before heading back upstairs. When she walked back down, Dracula was drinking from a glass and as soon as he saw her, he handed it to her. When she finished it in one gulp, he didn’t hesitate to open his shirt and offer his throat and Zoe felt herself move, but rather than sink her fangs into him, she kissed his neck and said

“I feel ok. I don’t think I need to feed I don’t feel hungry.”

“You will soon.” He said. “We must be careful. New-borns are never as calm as you. I don’t like that you’re meeting with Bloxham.”

“I know Draak. But Kate will be able to get us supplies, she needs to know.”

“I don’t like this.” He said again.

“Has anyone ever told you no?” She asked, smiling slightly at the pout that graced his face.

“No.” He said. “I was a Prince, remember.” He smirked down at her and said “I meant what I said earlier Zoe, you are the best of me. If anything, ever happens to you, I do not know what I would become.” She pressed a hand against his chest and said

“Nothing will happen to me Dracula. I am not going anywhere. You are stuck with me.”

“For eternity.” He said

“For eternity.” She confirmed, pulling him down for a kiss. He growled deep and had just lifted her into his arms and slammed her against a wall when the door opened, and Frank walked in. He squeaked slightly but shut the door behind him, entering the apartment.

“Get Out.” Dracula snarled, but Zoe pulled away from him and glared and he sighed. “Fine.”

“Dr Helsing?” Frank said, “Dark Lord, I was led to believe that Miss Westenra would be joining you.”

“Change of plans.” Dracula replied, spinning to face his lawyer. There was a feral grin on his face as Frank blanched at the news.

“Dark Lord.” Zoe whispered, giggling a little bit. “Oh My God, you are such a dork.” She laughed when Dracula turned and glared at her. “Totally and utterly ridiculous.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Well, this is quaint.” He muttered as the car pulled up outside the end-of-terrace house. The drive up from London to Whitby had been somewhat strained, both still smarting about the food argument and Renfield had taken to ignoring Zoe’s presence entirely. When Dracula had explained the change of plans Renfield had looked aghast, and then been mostly useless. It had taken Dracula reminding him that he was still in his employment for Frank to regain some composure. He’d made sure that Zoe and Dracula had been fed, and then promptly ignored her.

“Not all of us are rich Dracula.” Zoe muttered, pushing past Renfield who tried to help Dracula who just pushed him away.

“You are now.” He said, pulling a pair of sunglasses on. Zoe turned to look at him and gulped slightly. The sunglasses and three-piece suit made him look like someone who had just walked out of a fashion shoot. She sighed and pulling her keys from her pocket she unlocked her home. It may not have looked like much to Dracula, but to her it was just what she needed. The three-bed end of terrace had been her home for over 15 years, and she loved it. Frank didn’t say anything else, just glared at Zoe as he passed Dracula a small bag before getting back into the car and driving away.

Opening the front door, bypassing the lounge to her right and the kitchen to her left, she was halfway up the stairs when she realised that Dracula hadn’t entered her home. She peered down at him and glared.

“You have to invite me in Zoe.”

“No, I really don’t.” She said to him. She walked back down the stairs and sat on the bottom step, tilting her head at him. “What is stopping you from entering my home?”

He glared at her and she finally relented.

“Ohh get in here. We’ll discuss your total ridiculousness later.” She shrieked as he leapt over the threshold and pinned her to the stairs. She giggled when he snuffled against her neck, before pushing himself upright and leaping over her landing halfway up the stairs. She grinned and said

“Left.” Pushing herself to her feet and pulling her front door shut, she darted up the stairs. Maybe telling him where her bedroom was hadn’t been her best idea, but he would have found it eventually. Pushing the door open she turned to open the curtains that looked over her back garden, the lawn would need mowing soon. Maybe she could suggest Draak did it shirtless, she wouldn’t mind the eye candy, and she was sure that her neighbours wouldn’t complain either.

“What is this?” He asked, and as Zoe turned to face him, she blushed a brilliant colour.

“Oh My God.” She muttered, crossing the room, and reaching for the glass dildo that he held in his hand.

“It looks, like, well a much smaller version of me Zoe. No wonder I felt big.” He smirked down at her, grabbing her reaching hand and pulling her against his hard body. He held the dildo over her head, laughing as she tried to climb his body to get it.

“I will knee you in the balls if you don’t give me that.” She said laughing and taking the dildo from his hand when he passed it to her.

“Do I have to forget that I saw that?”

“God yes, but I am sure you won’t.” She grumbled, shoving it back into her bedside table. He laughed and sat on the side of her bed, before longing back and crossing his ankles. She smacked at his feet and said

“Shoes off the bed.”

“I could just take all my clothes off.” He rumbled, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her onto the bed with him and rolling on top of her.

“Draak for god’s sake.” She grumbled, smiling at him, and caressing his face. He smiled up at her and she couldn’t help but drop a kiss on his forehead. He had pissed her off with the food thing, but she understood. To a degree at least.

“Kate will be here soon.” She muttered as he untucked her shirt and ran his fingers up and down her side.

“I can be quick.” He mumbled and Zoe laughed

“You might, but I won’t. Look I haven’t told Kate anything yet.” He rolled his eyes and said

“Fine.” He remained laying on the bed as Zoe shuffled around her bedroom, gathering clothes and towels.

“I am going downstairs for a shower and a freshen up.” He winked at her and she said “Alone.” She giggled when he pouted but he stayed where he was. She spun back to face him suddenly and said

“Mirror. What did you mean about the mirror?” He pushed himself upright and forced himself to stand in front of the full-length mirror that Zoe had at the end of her bed.

“That woman, Kathleen, asked me about my reflection. Some stupid thing about vampires not having a reflection in the movies. Anyway,” He tugged at the sleeves of his suit jacket and carried on “I can see myself, I’m old and rotten.” He huffed a small laugh. “I hate mirrors. They show too much.”

“The last time I looked into a mirror, I saw Agatha reflected back.” Zoe admitted. He spun to face her and said

“Agatha?”

“Yes.”

“I think the mirror reflects what we want to see. Agatha to help you defeat me, Lucy must have seen herself as beautiful, and me. As for me, I see death.”

“Then maybe, you were right this morning. You will change in the mirror.” He turned to look at her, a small smile playing across his face.

“Maybe.” He muttered before moving away. He slid a hand around her waist and pulled her against him. He kissed her softly before grinning.

“What?” She asked him.

“You just kissed an old man.” She smacked his chest and wrapped an arm around his neck pulling him down for another kiss. He broke away and she said

“I need to shower.” He smiled at her and moved away, letting her carry clothes and towels downstairs to her bathroom. He followed her quietly and after sticking his head inside her bathroom, which was all but a cupboard under the stairs, he raised an eyebrow and turned away shaking his head. She laughed and said

“The TV is in the Living Room. I won’t be long.” He kissed her softly and wandered around her house for a few minutes, learning where everything was before dropping onto the couch and settling down to watch something on the TV. He heard the shower finish and rather than follow her as she dashed upstairs, he carried on watching the Documentary that he had found. She appeared a few minutes later and said

“Kate’s just leaving the Foundation. Can you wait somewhere else?” He sighed but left the living room, finding the remote control for the smaller TV in the conservatory and finding the rest of his Documentary. When the doorbell rang a few minutes later he sighed and forced himself to stay lounging on the wicker sofa, his vampire hearing allowed him to listen into any conversations anyway.

“Zoe, my gosh, you’re looking well.”

“Come in Kate. Tea?”

“Yes please. Are you going to tell me what is going on?”

“Let me make a drink and then we can talk.”

Kate huffed but headed into the living room and Zoe heard her sit on the sofa. She sighed and quickly made their drinks before making sure that Dracula was out of sight.

“You are stalling.” Kate said as Zoe entered the room, making her sigh. “Jack called me last night, after he left you. And as you are here, well, that leaves two options. The Count is staked and finally laying in his grave, you having killed him somehow. Or something else happened.” She stopped there and indicated that Zoe could continue. She took a deep breath and after taking a sip of her tea spoke quietly

“This is going to sound crazy but he tried to commit suicide, and give me a pain free death, by drinking my blood, and it didn’t work.”

“And. Zoe I’m not daft.”

“And I am now like him.”

“You are a vampire? My God Zoe, what have you done? What about your cancer? But it’s daylight. You’re sat in the sunlight. Oh My God.” Kate started breathing rapidly but took a deep breath and managed to calm herself.

“Steady Kate, I’m still me, I now just have a different condition than Cancer. The whole Vampire’s cannot walk in daylight, not true. And as for the cancer, well I need to be checked and tested for it, but I think the whole Vampirism thing has probably cured it.” Zoe said, grimacing. Zoe knew that Kate was shocked, and to a degree terrified, so she took a sip of the tea that she had made, hoping that the very human interaction calmed and reassured her friend.

“You’re drinking.”

“Yes. Tea, stewed it too long though so it’s a bit gross.” Kate smiled before she could stop herself and said

“And the Count?”

“Fine as far as I know.”

“Zoe having a murderous Vampire on the loose is an issue. Where is he?”

“I don’t know.” Zoe said, hoping that Kate wouldn’t read her face and see that she had lied. Zoe’s poker face was appalling, but Kate was too angry to notice the lie.

“Begging your pardon, but Zoe what the fuck?”

“I know you must think I have lost my mind, but we had quite a long chat this morning, a lot has changed. He was calm, he didn’t hurt Jack when he so easily could have last night, I think something in him has changed, plus when was the last time we were made aware of a body. I think the 21st century has changed him.”

“Zoe you have lost your mind. You cannot trust him.” Kate gasped,

“Kate. I can and I do. And I really really want you to trust me. I know things are different now, but they don’t have to be that different.”

“Zoe. You are a vampire; everything is going to be very different. Will you come back to the Foundation?”

“I don’t know. I’m going to need blood, and hunting isn’t something I can do. I will need people to donate blood for me, I refuse to become a killer. I will be in control of my needs.”

“Zoe. Do you know where Count Dracula is?”

“Does it matter?”

“Zoe.” Kate snapped at her, and Zoe sighed, she hadn’t really wanted Kate to know Draak was around.

“He is in the conservatory.” She finally admitted, having stalled Kate’s question for as long as she could.

“He’s here? In this house? And he can hear this conversation?”

“Yes.” A slightly disembodied voice called, and Zoe glared in his direction, “I can hear you glare at me, Zoe.”

“Shut Up Dracula.” She snapped back at him but flashed him a very quick smile as he appeared in the doorway in the blink of an eye.

“Doctor Bloxham.” He said, politely nodding his head. Zoe saw him inhale and his eyes widen in recognition, but he didn’t make a move towards her.

“Count Dracula.” Kate replied,

“Please, just Dracula is fine.”

“I have no intention of being so informal.” She replied, glaring at him, though the glare turned to a bit of shock as he dropped onto the sofa next to Zoe, closer than perhaps two people who hated each other would.

“Please Dr Bloxham, Zoe may have had a slight change in her DNA, but she is still very much the same person.” He said, smiling softly at Zoe as he addressed Kate.

“Count Dracula-“

“Kate, please.” Zoe said quietly. “You’ve known me a very long time, I need you to trust that I know what I am doing and am in complete control.”

“Zoe,” Kate sighed and nodded “Okay. What do you need?”

“The same conditions as were offered to Dracula, minus the capturing and keeping in a box forever. We will obviously submit to some tests, but only for a set period. I would suggest a month.”

“I can’t promise that Zoe. But I will do everything I can. Do you need to feed?”

“Not at the moment, we have enough supplies to last a week or so.” Zoe said, “Kate, we need to break Dracula’s addiction.”

“Pardon?” Both Dracula and Kate said at the same time.

“Dracula, blood isn’t just nourishment for you is it, it’s an addiction. Like cocaine or alcohol.” He nodded and Zoe inclined her head

“If we can break your addiction, I am sure the Foundation would be happier.”

Kate nodded in agreement, looking at the scowling Vampire and said

“We can do that as part of the tests. Do you know how much blood you’ll need?”

“It will depend.” Dracula said. “Zoe is a newborn, she will be hungrier than myself for many years. I would suggest that she would require, 6 pints at least a day minimum. Plus over 1000 calories in normal food. But that will need to be assessed over time. She can take from me as well; I replenish faster than most. Whilst I do not require food, if you are feeding Zoe, you may as well feed me. I suspect there will be times when I will need to eat like a human. As for blood, I can go for years and years without feeding properly, so I don’t know how you would break my addiction. I suspect a comfortable amount for me will half what Zoe gets.”

“Hmmm, that’s a lot.”

“Would you rather have a hungry vampire who cannot be controlled by light?” Dracula asked raising an eyebrow at Kate. “It doesn’t have to be straight from the source, in fact, the longer the blood is in storage, the less information it provides.”

“That will make things easier. What is your plan for once you leave the Foundation?”

“I plan to arrange for the Foundation, and other resources to provide for us. No more hunting.” Zoe said, squeezing Dracula’s arm as he huffed. She removed her hand when she saw Kate look at it and took another sip from her mug of tea.

“There are going to be restrictions, and I doubt the Foundation will allow for any direct feeding, but if you can donate blood in a safe way, then Zoe should be able to drink some of yours, yes.” Kate said sighing “Zoe I have to admit it would have been a lot easier if I didn’t know all this. God it would have been easier if you two had just vanished.”

“Kate, I want to do this as properly as possible, plus what is the point of having the resources of the Foundation if I can’t use them? We know this is difficult, and puts you in a difficult position, but, as much as Dracula hates it, it is the right thing to do.”

“Okay.” Kate said, “This is going to take some work, but I think we can do it. I can’t promise you’ll get your job back.”

“I don’t want it back.” Zoe said quietly. “Kate, I can’t work under those conditions. The studies we were going to do, I wouldn’t go through with them so how can I expect Dracula to sit by and do it. It was very different before we actually found him, suggesting the tests we could do, but now, even if this” she indicted Dracula and herself “hadn’t happened I would never have been able to run the tests.”

Kate nodded, having also never liked the plans that the Directors had made for Dracula said

“Okay. We can do this. I assume Count Dracula, that you will be not a raging arsehole and will do as requested.” Dracula snarled, but calmed instantly as Zoe rested a hand on his forearm.

“He will,” Zoe emphasised the word, glaring at Dracula as she did so “Behave. Draak and I have some kind of a weird connection, he says he feels calmer and much more focused when he is around me. It wasn’t something either of us were expecting, it might be because he is my creator, but neither of us understand it. But I won’t be looking a gift horse in the mouth.”

“Draak?” Kate said, a small smirk on her face and Zoe knew that if she could have still blushed, she would have done. “They’ll ask questions about any connection you two have, and probably test for proof. Christ Zoe, this is one monumental fuck up. So, there is obviously more to what is going on here, isn’t there?” The indicated the two of them, again smirking.

“Fuck.” Zoe muttered. “Complicated. Look, that last 48 hours have been a complete whirlwind Kate, I don’t really know which way is up at the moment and I definitely don’t know about this connection. Look he hasn’t hurt me. He’s not threatened me, he is here because I for some totally unknown reason, actually like his company. Stop Smirking Dracula.” Zoe said, glaring at him again. He was totally unrepentant and muttered

“Careful Zoe, people might think you like me.”

“Shut Up.”

Kate smirked and the couple who were now glaring at each other and said

“Okay, but I want a lot more answers.” She stood and said “Give me 24 hours. I’ll come back when I know more. No killing.” Dracula smiled at her glib humour and said

“I promise.” Kate shook her head laughing slightly, realising that when he wasn’t being a homicidal maniac, he was very charming and every bit the political wrangler that a Prince would have been and replied

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”


End file.
